Punch
The history of one of the oldest Habanos brands with strong ties to Switzerland.
Punch is a "pre-revolution" brand established around 1840 and is thus one of the oldest brands of Habanos. Founded by a German named Stockmann, Punch is said to have been inspired by Mister Punch, a British puppeteer whose show "Punch and Judy" was very popular in England in the 19th century. Mister Punch still appears on the vista of the Punch Semi Plain Boxes (SPB).
The brand quickly became successful, especially in the British market.
From its inception to 1930, Punch changed owners several times, not least because of the 1929 crash in the United States, which did not spare the brand. Punch was finally acquired by the company Fernández & Palicio y Cía, S en C, which already owned Hoyo de Monterrey, Belinda and La Escepción. Following this acquisition, the production of Punch was transferred to the factory in charge of Hoyo de Monterrey, thus creating a strong link between the two brands. Today, they are still produced together in the La Corona factory.
Ten years later, in 1940, Punch was registered as a manufacturer-exporter. Punch became the fifth most popular brand in the world in the 1970s behind Montecristo, Partagás, Romeo y Julieta and H. Upmann.
After the Cuban Revolution, Punch did not experience any major changes except for the removal of many vitolas from its regular catalogue. This was due to their similarity in size. For example Nectares No.2, Royal Selection No.11 and Club Selection No.1 were all Grand Corona (46 x 143 mm).
Unlike other Habanos brands, whose blend was mellowed in the mid-1990s, Punch retained its aromatic identity: woody and cedary aromas with a medium tobacco taste, all with excellent balance. Another special feature of these cigars is their ability to age. This linear ageing process leads the Punch to higher heights year after year.
Despite its much reduced vitolario compared to that of the early 2000s, the Punch brand enjoys worldwide popularity, especially thanks to the regional editions.
Indeed, to date, the brand has produced no less than 25 regional editions. Punch even contributed to the launch of the programme in 2005 with the production of two cigars: Punch Superfinos Edición Regional Italia and Punch Robusto Edición Regional Suiza. The latter seems to have won over Swiss aficionados, as the brand has been selected on four other occasions to produce Edición Regional Suiza cigars: the 2007 Punch Robusto (a reissue of the 2005 edition), the Punch Poderosos, which we are presenting today, the 2011 Punch Clasicos (109 - 50 x 184 mm) and the 2015 Punch Supremos (Sobresalientes - 53 x 153 mm).
This link between the brand and the Swiss Confederation was once again reinforced in July 2019 with the launch of the Punch Short de Punch. Indeed, presented for the first time at the XXI Festival del Habano, the Punch Short de Punch was officially launched worldwide in Switzerland. The event took place on Friday 12 July 2019 at the Hotel Storchen in the heart of Zurich's old town.
This new cigar is the first with a 50 calibre to join the brand's catalogue. Punch has been making cigars for a very long time, but until now, the brand has never had a 50-calibre vitola in its regular production portfolio. The Short de Punch is part of the new trend of "short smokes", which are increasingly appreciated by cigar aficionados because they offer a complex aromatic profile in a relatively short tasting time. The importance of this launch was reinforced by the fact that to date, the Punch Short de Punch is the one and only vitola in the brand's regular catalogue, introduced after the revolution.
The vitola is a "Paraíso" (50 x 120 mm). It is situated between the Petit Robusto (50 x 102 mm) and the Robusto (50 x 124 mm). This vitola is also a first for Habanos. Indeed, this format is currently not found in any other Habanos brand catalogue.
At the launch party for the Short de Punch, organised by Intertabak, the official Habanos importer for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, an auction was held to support the Camaquito Foundation, which provides Cuban children with assistance in the areas of schooling, sports and culture. The House of Grauer is proud to have been able to support this foundation by winning the humidor Punch Supremos Exclusivo Suiza de 2015 - No.48/100 from the private collection of Mr. Urs Tanner, auctioned for the occasion. The humidor was signed by : Mr. Heinrich Villiger, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Intertabak and President of 5th Avenue (Germany); Mr. Urs Tanner, Member of the Board of Directors of Intertabak; Mr. Martin Weber, Director of Intertabak; Mr. Leopoldo Cintra Gonzalez, Vice President Commercial at Habanos SA and Mr. José Maria Lopez Inchaurbe, Vice President Development at Habanos SA.
This humidor, released in 2015, was produced exclusively for Switzerland and is reminiscent of a Cuban cigar press. Each of the 100 humidors has been handcrafted and contains 50 Punch Supremos Edición Regional Suiza (Sobresalientes - 53 x 153 mm).
Other special Punch productions include the brand's presence twice in the Edición Limitada programme, in 2013 and 2017 with the Punch Serie D'Oro No. 2 (Campanas - 52 x 140 mm) and Punch Regios de Punch (Hermoso Especial - 48 x 120 mm) respectively.
The brand is also represented among the brands offering cigars available exclusively in La Casa del Habano and Habanos Specialist stors with the introduction in 2016 of Punch 48, a Hermosos No.3 (48 x 140 mm).
All Punch vitolas are rolled "Totalmente a Mano con Tripa Larga" with a long filler made of tobacco leaves from the Vuelta Abajo region.
To learn more about Punch cigars and the history of the brand, we would be delighted to welcome you to our walk-in humidor, where you will find all the brand's special productions as well as cigars from the brand's regular catalogue.
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